Thanksgiving Chalk Cloth Placemats

We have been enjoying writing down the things we are thankful for on our Write On Frame – and surprisingly they are not all cured meats. ;)

But it got me thinking about my little nieces – they are really too young for something like that. I thought these fun Chalk cloth placemats would be perfect for them. You’ve probably seen Chalk cloth Fabric Placemats around – this is similar but with a Thanksgiving twist!

The placemat says, “I am thankful for” and they can draw out what they’re thankful for, and easily erase it and draw something new.

If you are not familiar with Chalk cloth – it’s a black leather-like fabric designed to be used just like a chalkboard, but you can sew it. Sweet huh?
I ordered mine from Fabric.com, but I believe that is is available at Joann’s now. You can’t wash it – it just wipes clean with a cloth.

Here’s what you need if you’d like to make a placemat or two for your little ones!

Materials:

Chalk cloth – 14 1/2″ x 18″ per placemat

Fabric for backing – same size

bias tape or similar binding

paint pen

chalk

Cut your placemat pieces out.

Place your pieces together, wrong sides together. If you pin the pieces together, pin them very close to the edge so the binding will cover the holes.

Sew your binding around the edges of the placemat. I used two rows of straight stitching. One placemat takes most of a package of double fold quilt binding.

Using a paint pen, write out what you’d like to say across the top of the placemat. I wrote, “I am thankful for . . .” across the top and then some of the leaves from the fabric in the bottom right corner. I am going to add each girl’s name in front of the leaves because you know it’s always easier when things are marked with names. ;)

To prepare the chalk cloth for writing on, rub a piece of chalk over the whole placemat.

Wipe all the chalk off with a damp cloth and you’re ready to start coloring!

I also decorated a small jar to keep chalk in. I cut a strip of fabric, hemmed the ends, and sewed it in half.

Sew two stitching lines along the piece – so that the lines divide the rectangle into thirds.

Cut a small piece of ribbon that is long enough to tie around the rim of your chalk holder. Thread the ribbon through the center casing – between the two stitching lines.

Do not watch t.v. while threading the ribbon through the casing and pull it all the way completely through to the other side. Twice.

Tie the ruffle around your chalk holder – I used a little ball canning jar. So cute.

All done!! Time to start getting creative with your kids!!

I think these would be a really fun way to help your little ones focus on Thanksgiving – you could use it at home or it would be perfect to take out to a restaurant too! It would definitely help keep everyone entertained while you’re waiting for your food. You just erase the chalk with a damp paper towel.

It would be fun on Thanksgiving Day too – keeping the kids entertained while they’re waiting not so patiently for Thanksgiving dinner. Hmmmm.

I think I might make one for Mr. F.T.

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71 Comments

This is a wonderful idea! I saw it on Oopsey Daisy and had to head right over to see it all. I am definitely add it to my list of things to do for next year! I even have that same leaf fabric–can’t wait to use it!!

This is such a neat idea! We use to make place mats every year in grade school. We had a Thanksgiving meal where we would always sit as the whole entire school. This is a great idea! It would be a lot better than the construction paper style that we did back then.

Valerie

Bev I have a question. When I went to several sites to look into purchasing it had low ratings. Most were that it had a very strong odor that would not go away no matter how hard they tried, the reason for the concern is that my preschoolers are between 3-4 years old and I don’t want to get them sick. It is a little pricey and I don’t want to spend money on something that they won’t use. Also a few said that it did not write and the kids got frustrated but as I can see on your site it looks amazing. Is it washable and will it be same after? Can you please help and calm some of my concerns. Thank you and God Bless. Mrs. Valerie

Hi Valerie!
I did not notice a strong odor with my chalk cloth. It smells a little like vinyl, but not bad at all. I gave my nieces the mats and we have had a blast with them, reusing them often. I do use regular chalk with them, not the markers so I’m not sure if that was the problem or not. I have had mine for a while now, so I can’t vouch for the lots they are selling now, but I didn’t have any problem with odor or permanent marks.
I have seen it in my local Jo-Ann’s – you might try heading in there to see if they carry it and if you notice an odor there? Then you’d be able to check it out in person instead of just ordering it online. Hope that helps!